I'd really wish I could say he enjoyed life, but my grandfather's coming from a strict Austro-Hungarian heritage. He took the hardest paths of life because he was sure that's the proper way to live and be a man, thinking he was superman and knows better than anyone else. He's a hard man. A hard man who's scared to die. I asked him how he was when I was in the hospital, and he replied "miserable". He did it with a smile. Not because he's having fun out of it, but because "hey, there's nothing else to do".

Trudy - there aren't any words. Healing~ma to the injured boy. Much comfort to the parents.

Javachik, may those links stay put.

Sending the ~ma for your DH, Sox.

Javachik, what a roller coaster! You really do deserve a nice rewarding break.

Shir, just as your grandfather chose his path you must choose yours. I believe he would like to see you choose a path filled with joy and happiness. Loss and grief are a part of life, but life is not in proper balance without the delights and pleasures.

2 more weeks in this first session of school. I am trying to kick some teenage butt so that we don't have to suffer too badly when the first report arrives. Ugh. Also, my son shaved his eyebrows last night over some football bet. DH didn't even notice this morning. I'm going to wait and see how long it takes. He sent me a picture. I'll put it up in a bit.

Lots of ~ma for your DH, Sox. This has got to be nerve wracking for you guys.

Shir, grief doesn't follow the same pattern for everyone and you can only be honest with your feelings and deal with how YOU feel. Oh, and what everyone else said, too.

Laura, good luck with the butt kicking. Don't forget a ladder. What IS it with teenage boys and their eyebrows. A friend of mine in high school also shaved his eyebrows. He made the mistake of doing it right before class pictures, too, so the event is officially remembered.

Eyebrows: Before [link] After [link] And the next picture is my newest cutiehead great niece [link]

And off to the races school and work....

eta: yes, it was a self-portrait with his cell phone

~mas to Trudy and Sox.

Thanks, everyone. It's a tiny-step by tiny-step process.

~ma to your friends Trudy and work~ to Sox' husband.

WORKMA TO MR. SOX!!!!

Shir, I think joy is a gift that should always be embraced --particularly in times of sorrow.

Shir, you grieve when and as you feel like it. Some of my heartiest belly laughs came on the day of my mother's funeral and I was grateful for them because I might just have curled up and died myself without them. You will find yourself being plenty sad more than you want to; take the good times when you can and make the most of them.

Continued job~ma for your DH, Sox.

I have to go to a job search seminar at the unemployment office, today. Ugh. Two hours of being told how to do what I've been doing. I'll need lots of coffee to make it through.

Shir, Cash and omnis and others have said wise things. This is what I have to add. Sometimes the best way to honor our loved ones, alive or dead, is to learn from their mistakes rather than repeating them. So if you find yourself feeling any guilt over the possibility that you are being disrespectful of your grandfather, remember that you don't have to have the same attitudes to life that he had in order to love him and give him the honor he is due.